Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Research

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have madeon starting an antibody testing pilot study for those who remain vulnerable to poor outcomes from COVID-19 despite vaccination; and when the funding will be confirmed.

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 6 February (HL5220),what are the processes at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NICE) to assess the study proposal for COVID-19 antibody testing, including its (1) funding, and (2) timetable.

Lord Markham: The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has funded a new study to establish whether antibody testing can identify which patient groups remain at greatest risk of severe COVID-19 infection after vaccinations. The Stratification of Clinically Vulnerable People for COVID-19 Risk Using Antibody Testing (STRAVINSKY) study will involve testing 3,000 immune vulnerable participants and will also pool data from previous studies in vulnerable patients, to give a deeper understanding of antibody testing for vaccine responsiveness and protection, and if possible, define antibody testing thresholds for COVID-19 risk. This will aim to improve the understanding of COVID-19 risk in immunosuppressed individuals to inform future advice. This was announced on 2 March and the study has been funded for 24 months. The Department discussed a research application for antibody testing from the trial leads of successful COVID immunology trials including OCTAVE, MELODY, PROSECO, and other studies. Due to the urgent need for the research NIHR agreed that the application could be submitted to the fast-track scheme. The full proposal was reviewed by a specialised independent funding committee, who recommended funding and approval was provided by the Department in January 2023.

Mental Health Services: Children

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time from receiving a referral to child mental health services to receiving an appointment.

Lord Markham: The information requested is not collected centrally by the Department or NHS England as a national access and waiting times standard for children and young people’s mental health services in England has not yet been defined or set. NHS England has consulted on the potential to introduce five new waiting time standards as part of its Clinically-led Review of National Health Service access standards, including that children, young people and their families, presenting to community-based mental health services should start to receive care within four weeks from referral. As a first step, NHS England has recently shared and promoted guidance with its local system partners to consistently report waiting times to support the development of a baseline position.

Vaccination: Take-up

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have toreverse the decline in uptake of immunisations to prevent infectious diseases from reoccurring in future winter seasons.

Lord Markham: Vaccination is the best defence against severe illness, with inflections including flu and COVID-19 becoming more common over the winter season. More than 17.3 million people received a COVID-19 autumn booster this year and overall, the National Health Service COVID-19 vaccination programme has delivered 144.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine since December 2020. NHS staff, together with partners, including local Government and volunteers, have delivered a combined 38 million flu and covid doses this winter amid record pressures on emergency services, providing crucial protection to the most vulnerable and keeping thousands out of hospital. NHS England has also written directly to parents of two- to three-year-olds and sent tailored letters to people in high-risk groups. An additional online national booking service was tested this year so eligible people had another route to book a pharmacy appointment. The effectiveness of this service is being evaluated for the 2023/24 season. There has also been a major seasonal vaccinations marketing and communications campaign to encourage people to come forward. They will be ready to stand up future campaigns with the same dedication and determination once new guidance is set out. Plans for 2023/24 will build on good practice from previous flu and covid seasons and to reflect the need to achieve maximum coverage across eligible cohorts.

Vaccination

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to maintain, and (2)to utilise, the expanded vaccinator workforce recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic ahead of next winter’s immunisation programme in 2023/2024.

Lord Markham: NHS England continues to work with integrated care boards to ensure that there are retention plans in place to maintain the vaccination workforce through their lead employers to support future vaccination campaigns. There have been almost 30,000 people retained from the COVID-19 vaccination programme into wider health and care training and career pathways in England. Over 2,000 people have joined as NHS Reservists to support during times of surge to ensure there is resilience in the vaccination workforce as well as the wider National Health Service.

Social Services: Pay

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the difference in the pay scales for adult and children’s social care staff.

Lord Markham: No assessment has been made.

Health Services: Translation Services

Baroness Coussins: To ask His Majesty's Government how they monitor compliance with the 'Guidance for Commissioners: Interpreting and Translation Services in Primary Care', published by NHS England in September 2018.

Lord Markham: The Department does not monitor compliance with this guidance. However, when commissioners, NHS Regions and integrated care boards commission interpreting and translation services for their areas, those contracts would be governed in line with National Health Service guidance and professional standards.

Infectious Diseases: Disease Control

The Earl of Leicester: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 5 December 2022 (HL3057), how the UK Health Security Agency’s The effectiveness of face coverings to reduce transmission of COVID-19 in community settings: A rapid review (update 2) from November 2021 accounts for biases such as the retrospective data collection, short-term duration of the studies and the presence of co-interventions; and why the rapid review was not independently peer-reviewed.

Lord Markham: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published a range of rapid evidence reviews. The first review of the effectiveness of face coverings in non-healthcare settings was published on 26 June 2020, with the first update published on 29 January 2021, and the second update published on 9 November 2021. The second update review searched for studies up to 14 September 2021. Studies were assessed by an experienced UKHSA evidence reviewer and checked by a second reviewer using the quality criteria checklist (QCC) for primary research. This risk of bias tool can be applied to most study designs, observational and interventional, and is suitable for rapid reviews of mixed type of evidence. As copy of this checklist is attached. Reviewers using the QCC tool can capture bias from retrospective data collection, presence of co-interventions, and short-term duration of follow-up. In all three evidence reviews of the effectiveness of face coverings, all biases that the reviewers felt were present in each of the included studies were detailed in the supplementary tables to the reports. All evidence reviews were subject to an internal quality assurance and clearance process prior to publication. Due to the pace of the UKHSA COVID-19 pandemic response, independent peer review was not sought prior to publication.Attachment (docx, 28.5KB)

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 1 February (HL4911), whether the work on the Cohorting as a Service platform has been completed; and if not, when this is scheduled to take place.

Lord Markham: The Cohorting as a Service platform went live on the 20 October 2022. The service currently provides a service to the NHS England Vaccine Programme for COVID-19 and flu and will continue to evolve.

NHS Digital: Data Protection

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people’s GP records have been made accessible to contractors and sub-contractors working on NHS England’s Cohorting as a Service system in 2023; and what data fields have been shared.

Lord Markham: The clinical data used in the Cohorting as a Service system covers between 15 and 20 million people in the flu and COVID-19 cohorts. The system is built and maintained by NHS England employees and one main contractor, with less than fifteen people in the team having access to the relevant clinical cohorting data. This data is only accessed by exception, for example to investigate or resolve problems. The remainder of the team use test data for building the service and do not have access to the clinical data.The system accesses the following data fields:- NHS Number;- surname and forename;- date of birth/age;- address and postcode;- ethnicity;- sex;- the associated SNOMED5 CT codes and dates for medical conditions and drug treatment(s) relevant to the cohort criteria.

Medicine: Research

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to deliver their clinical research vision, and (2) to provide funding to support the growth of the UK’s phase 1 trial capacity.

Lord Markham: The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery 2022-2025 implementation plan summarises the progress made in 2021-22 towards delivering the vision and the actions that are being taken by the various delivery partners (the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Health Research Authority and Devolved Administrations) between 2022 and 2025 to make progress to achieve our vision in full by 2031. This plan is being delivered under the UK Recovery, Resilience and Growth Programme. To support the growth of phase 1 trial capacity the NIHR has confirmed an investment of £969 million over the next five years in its early translational research infrastructure, which includes the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, NIHR Clinical Research Facilities and NIHR/Cancer Research UK Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres.

Clinical Trials

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whatplans they have to ensure that the UK maintains a leadership role in the number of phase 1 trials being delivered in the UK, by comparison to international competitors.

Lord Markham: The multi-year vision for the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery: 2021 to 2022 implementation plan was published on 23 March 2021 and sets out our ambition to create a patient-centred, pro-innovation and digitally enabled clinical research environment including phase 1 trials. A copy is attached. Implementing the vision will unleash the true potential of our clinical research environment to improve health, capitalise on our renowned research expertise, and make the United Kingdom one of the best places in the world to design and deliver research. National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) infrastructure spans early translational experimental medicine, through clinical and onto applied health and care research. NIHR has recently invested over £969 million to strengthen the infrastructure supporting Phase 1 trial capacity over the next five years. This includes funding for the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, the NIHR Clinical Research Facilities, and Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres.Attachment (pdf, 368.3KB)

Evusheld

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government why Evusheld was not referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) until 10 August 2022 despite the review process starting on 8 June 2022; and how timelines can be tightened in future decision making.

Lord Markham: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) wrote to the Department on 8 June 2022 requesting the referral of Evusheld for the treatment of COVID-19 for inclusion into its multiple technology appraisal on therapeutics for COVID-19. This was different and unrelated to the referral letter sent by the Department to NICE on 10 August 2022, which was for Evusheld for prophylaxis. Following the referral, NICE has prioritised the appraisal of Evusheld for the prevention of COVID-19 and issued its draft guidance for consultation on 16 February 2023. NICE has been unable to recommend its use to protect against COVID-19 citing the lack of its clinical evidence against current variants and those likely to be circulating in the near future. Stakeholders now have until 9 March 2023 to comment on NICE’s draft recommendations.

Department for Education

Pupils: Hearing Impairment

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve educational outcomes for deaf children.

Baroness Barran: On 29 March 2022 the department published the Special Educational Needs Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision Green paper, which set out our plans to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND, including those with Sensory Impairment, within a fairer and financially sustainable system. We carefully considered the feedback we received through the responses to the consultation and in the many events that took place during the 16-week consultation period. A full response has been published on 2 March 2023, in the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan.It is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils with sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory qualification (MQSI). To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. We have developed a new approval process to determine providers of MQSIs from the start of the 2023/24 academic year. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairments, in both specialist and mainstream settings.

Confucius Institutes

Lord Leong: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made to close Chinese Confucius Institutes in the UK, if any; and what estimate they have made of how muchof the spendingon Mandarin teaching at schools has been channelled through Confucius Institutes.

Baroness Barran: The government is committed to ensuring the UK education sector engages with China in a way that reflects the UK's national security and values and takes account of concerns.Like all similar bodies, Confucius Institutes should operate transparently and with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression. As with any international collaboration, education providers have a responsibility to ensure their partnerships with countries overseas are managed appropriately, ensuring the right due diligence is in place. This includes partnerships with Confucius Institutes. The department would encourage any providers with concerns to contact the government.The government’s flagship Mandarin Excellence Programme for teaching Mandarin in state-funded schools in England is delivered by the University College London Institute of Education. Since 2016, when the programme first launched, approximately £20.4 million, excluding VAT, has been spent on the Mandarin Excellence Programme. Over 75% of this funding has gone directly to schools participating in the programme. The department does not currently monitor the level of funding spent on Mandarin teaching in schools through Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms.The government continues to keep these arrangements under review.

Design and Technology: Education

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Education Policy InstituteA spotlight on Design and Technology Study in England, published on 23 March 2022; and in particular, the finding that take up of Design and Technology in schools has fallen significantly over the last decade.

Baroness Barran: ​​The department is aware of this report and will consider its findings in future policy development. Design and technology is compulsory in state-maintained schools from key stages 1 to 3, and pupils in maintained schools have an entitlement to study design and technology at key stage 4. Design and technology is included in Progress 8 and Attainment 8, which are headline measures for school accountability.

Schools: Standards

Baroness Valentine: To ask His Majesty's Government whether funding for Priority Education Investment Areas is intended to provide an element of continuity funding to some of the previous Opportunity Areas; and whether they plan to distribute this funding in time to enable activity to continue during the current academic year.

Baroness Barran: The Schools White Paper: Opportunity for all, published in March 2022, announced that Priority Education Investment Areas will receive a share of around £40 million of funding to address local needs.The previous Opportunity Areas make up 12 of the 24 Priority Education Investment Areas. They will receive funding to support targeted interventions to improve attainment in literacy and numeracy at key stage 2 and 4, in line with the priorities for each area. Delivery of this support will commence this academic year.

Pupils: Hearing Impairment

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Auditory Verbal Therapy on educational outcomes for deaf children.

Baroness Barran: There has been no assessment made by the department of the impact of Auditory Verbal Therapy.

Ministry of Justice

Legal Aid: Costs

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total cost of legal aid in England and Wales in the last five years.

Lord Bellamy: The total expenditure under the legal aid scheme in the last five years is set out in the table attached.   This data is sourced from the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) official statistics which are published on a quarterly basis. Expenditure in financial year 2020/21 was reduced due to the impact of COVID-19. Full financial statements including operating costs are published in the Legal Aid Agency's Annual Report and Accounts.Total Expenditure (xlsx, 19.9KB)

Russia: Ukraine

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government how they will ensure in their meeting of international justice ministers in March that (1)practical, and (2) financial, support is provided to ensure perpetrators of alleged war crimes against women and children in Ukraine are brought to justice.

Lord Bellamy: The UK is committed to pursuing accountability for the atrocities being perpetrated by Russian forces against women and children in Ukraine. The £1 million voluntary contribution that the UK provided to the International Criminal Court (ICC) last year will contribute to enhancing capacity with respect to investigations into crimes of sexual and gender-based violence and crimes against children, led by the Prosecutors’ special adviser on crimes against and affecting children. In Ukraine, we are providing personnel from the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Team of Experts to support capacity building amongst prosecutors and the police as well as support to victims, including women and children. On 20 March 2023, Justice Ministers from around the world will convene in London. The Justice Ministers Conference is focused on enhancing practical and technical support to the ICC for its investigation into the situation in Ukraine. One of the thematic sessions of the Conference is focused on supporting victims and witnesses of trauma. The session will explore strengthening support for ICC investigations into sexual and gender-based violence in Ukraine, and sharing best practices to be adopted when interviewing children to avoid re-traumatisation during the evidence gathering process.

Prisoners: Females

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty's Government how manyrestricted status prisoners were held in the female estate in each of the last 10 years.

Lord Bellamy: A Restricted Status (RS) prisoner is any female, young person or young adult prisoner, convicted or on remand, whose escape would present a serious risk to the public and who is required to be held in designated secure accommodation. The table below provides the overall total figure for the specified year for those held in the female estate. A remanded female prisoner classified as RS is subject to review on an annual basis up until the time of their trial unless further information is received to suggest that an earlier review of their RS status is required. Following completion of their trial and if convicted and sentenced, the prisoner will then have their First Formal review which will decide whether RS remains warranted.  Total20121120131120148201511201612201719201820201917202018202118202219202321

Prisoners' Release: Females

Lord Bradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that women released from prison (1) that have served a short sentence, and (2) that were not sentenced following remand, receive support from the Probation Service.

Lord Bellamy: One of the strategic aims of the Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan 2022-25 (Jan 2023) is to protect the public through better outcomes for women on release. We will work to reduce reoffending rates for women leaving custody, focusing on what we know works: a home, a job and access to treatment for substance misuse.Contracts for holistic rehabilitative services for women deliver bespoke and specialist support to sentenced women (including those that have served short sentences) after their release from prison. These services support women to meet their resettlement and rehabilitative needs, including: help to find accommodation; help to find education, training or employment; support to meet finance, benefit and debt-related needs; help to address dependency issues; support to improve relationships with family or significant others; and support for their emotional wellbeing and social inclusion. These services are available post-release to all women who are subject to Probation supervision and we continue to explore how we might support those released unsentenced.All women in prison, including those on remand, are supported to meet their immediate resettlement needs and prepare for release by probation staff in prisons and maintain accommodation whilst in prison respectively. This includes sustaining accommodation on reception where possible, making referrals for accommodation and signposting women towards specialist advice for finance and debt support.A Short Sentence Function is being implemented in all regions which will work with all people on probation with ten months or fewer to serve in prison. This will enable them to be fast tracked and offered direct engagement.

Human Rights: Reviews

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what their timetable is for achieving the fourthUniversal Periodic Review of human rights in the UK; and what consultations they have so far completed.

Lord Bellamy: The UK is very supportive of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process and has recently completed its fourth cycle. In January 2022 the UK Government, in collaboration with the devolved governments, ran a series of engagement sessions with civil society organisations and the UK’s National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) covering a breadth of human rights issues, to facilitate open discussions about any particular areas of concern. In August 2022 the UK submitted its state report to the UN, a copy of which can be found on gov.uk, and in November 2022 the UK attended an interactive dialogue session with the Human Rights Council and other UN Member States. During that session a number of recommendations on cross-cutting human rights issues were made. Following consultation with the devolved governments, civil society organisations and the UK’s NHRIs, the UK has now submitted its position on the UPR recommendations to the UN. These will be formally adopted at the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council later this month and will be subsequently published on the UN website.

Prisons: Education

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the potential (1) costs, and (2) savings, that could be achieved for the public by bringing the delivery of prison education into the public sector.

Lord Bellamy: Prison Education is delivered by a range of education suppliers (including public, private and third sector). We are focused on ensuring education meets prison learner needs, provides value for money and teaches the skills needed for prisoners to get employment on release. We are currently engaging with the market to develop the best model to deliver education when current contract arrangements end for the Prison Education Framework, which will focus on both quality and value for money. We fully recognise the value of prison education, but have not sought to quantify that in precise financial terms.

Prisons: Suicide

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to prisons to support the prevention of suicide in prisons in England and Wales.

Lord Bellamy: Prevention of suicide is a key priority for the Ministry of Justice. Prison Service Instruction 64/2011 on “Rules and guidance for prison staff on managing prisoners who are at risk of harm or death, or who may be a risk to others” provides overarching guidance on prison safety and supports the prevention of suicide in prisons, including through our case management approach for prisoners at risk of suicide and self-harm. The instruction sets out mandatory actions and guidance for staff, emphasising the importance of individualised support, multi-disciplinary teamwork, and identifying and addressing an individual’s risks, triggers and protective factors.In addition, we are phasing in refreshed safety training for staff which includes suicide and self-harm prevention. In partnership with Samaritans, we have developed a suicide prevention learning tool, designed to give staff more confidence in engaging with prisoners who may be at risk of suicide. We have developed guidance on supporting someone who is self-harming, drawing on existing good practice and guidance from the NHS and third sector. This has been distributed nationally, helping to up-skill staff around the subject of self-harm and outline the importance of providing tailored, meaningful support.We know the risk of suicide can be higher for prisoners in the early days of custody including for those held on remand. Mandatory actions and guidance for staff on the early days in custody includes the requirement to assess all prisoners of any risk that they might harm themselves on arrival. A staff toolkit helps staff to assess risk effectively and promote supportive conversations in the early days of custody.

Neurodiversity: Prisoners

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of prisoners who have neurodivergent conditions; and what plans they have, if any, to introduce a common screening system for these conditions throughout the criminal justice system.

Lord Bellamy: In December 2020 the Ministry of Justice commissioned the Justice Inspectorates to conduct ‘An Evidence Review of Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System’. The Evidence Review Report, published July 2021, suggests that potentially half of the adult prison population has some form of neurodivergence. Currently, on prison reception, prisoners are screened to identify neurodivergent need, with 22/23 figures suggesting that 31% of prisoners have some form of neurodivergent need. Full diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental disorder, disability or cognitive impairment would be conducted by Healthcare in Prison, which is delivered by the National Health Service England. On 25 January 2023 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) published a six-month update to the Cross-Government Neurodiversity Action Plan. The six-month update details agreement from all criminal justice agencies to adopt a needs identification approach to screening for neurodivergence. Instead of a focus on diagnostic criteria, criminal justice agencies should seek to identify what reasonable adjustments can be made to support neurodivergent people at each stage of the process and this information should be shared between agencies. However, whilst consistency of approach is necessary, it would be inappropriate to use a single tool universally across all agencies because the time available to identify an individual’s needs and the types of reasonable adjustment available will vary at every stage of the system.

Prisoners

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they haveto review all cases of persons held for more than five years beyond their judicial tariffs.

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reduce the number of persons imprisoned for reasons of public protection; if so, how they will achieve this; and whether they will require that reasons for recalls to prison need additional detail rather than being classified as “other”.

Lord Bellamy: The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences, both those serving life and Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), who have completed their tariff will be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for them to remain confined. Where the Parole Board decide not to release the prisoner, the prisoner’s suitability for release must be considered at least every two years thereafter.In line with the Justice Select Committee’s report into the continued existence of the IPP sentence, the Government committed to update and refresh the HM Prison and Probation Service’s IPP Action Plan, to which may be attributed the very significant numbers of IPP prisoners released for the first time in each year since 2016. The Action Plan already mandates a formal case review led by HMPPS Psychology Services for every IPP prisoner who has spent five years in prison following tariff expiry and has never been released.The Action Plan remains the embodiment of the Government’s aim to reduce the total IPP prisoner population – that is the combined figure of those who have never been released and those returned to prison following recall. Specifically, by way of response to the Committee’s assertion that offenders serving an IPP sentence on licence in the community are being recalled unnecessarily, the Government has requested that the Chief Inspector of Probation carry out an independent thematic inspection on the proportionality of recall decisions made. In cases where ‘other’ is listed as a reason for recall, there is always at least one additional, specific reason as recorded in the published recall statistics.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Pakistan: Ahmadiyya

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Pakistan about the murder of an Ahmadi doctor, Mr Rashid Ahmed, on 19 February in Gutriala, Gujarat; when they last raised the topic of attacks on Ahmadis with that government; and what response they received.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The murder of Mr Rasheed Ahmad in Gujarat on 19 February is the latest incident in a worsening trend of persecution and targeting of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan. I [Lord Ahmad] raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, on 30 January. On 9 January, Minister of State for Development Andrew Mitchell raised this issue with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to engage at a senior level with government representatives and civil society; the UK Political Counsellor discussed the matter with Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi, on 20 February.

Ghana: Ethnic Groups

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with (1) the government of Ghana, and (2) Commonwealth countries, to find ways of preventing further clashes between the Kusasi and Mamprusi tribes.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The British High Commission in Accra follows the situation closely and is in regular contact with the National Peace Council, Regional Peace Councils and relevant Ghanaian Government ministries to express our support for the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Due to the febrile nature of the current situation we have refrained from making public statements. The High Commission is also in regular contact with likeminded missions, including those from Commonwealth countries, to discuss the security situation in the Upper Eastern region of Ghana.

UEFA Champions League Final 2022 Independent Review

Lord Birt: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of France regarding the conclusions of the independent review of the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final, chaired by Dr Tiago Brandão Rodrigues; and whether they intend to ask that government to seek from the French police (1) a response, and (2) an apology to Liverpool FC fans for the treatment they received.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: HMG has been clear that the events at the Champions League Final were unacceptable. The former Foreign Secretary raised the issue with the French Foreign Minister on 1 June 2022, as did the Sports Minister with his counterpart on 7 June. This continues to be discussed by officials. The French Government has apologised and acknowledged that mistakes were made. Security at major events will also be discussed at the upcoming UK-France Summit.

Russia: Ukraine

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government how they will seek to ensure effective collaboration betweenthe International Criminal Court and all other (1) international, and (2) national, accountability mechanisms when investigating alleged war crimes against women and children in Ukraine.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK will provide the necessary assistance to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to support its investigations. In addition to the UK's funding support of £10.5 million to the ICC annual budget, in 2022 we made a £1 million contribution, to increase the ICC's collection of evidence capacity and provide enhanced psychosocial support to witnesses and survivors. We are also providing a £2.5 million UK support package to support the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) initiative as a mechanism through which to support Ukraine's domestic investigations and prosecution of core international crimes. We encourage both the ICC and Ukraine's domestic investigation teams to coordinate with one another, and share information and evidence as appropriate.

Sudan: Internally Displaced People

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the factors causing the displacement of people in Sudan, (2) the role of the conflicts in Darfur, Kordofan, and the Blue Nile states in prompting such displacements, and (3) the causes for those conflicts.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Sudan is estimated to have 3.7 million Internally Displaced People. One of the biggest factors of displacement is conflict. In 2022 alone, conflict in regions such as Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile resulted in nearly 300,000 people being displaced. The political and security instability following the 25 October 2021 coup has exacerbated conflict in marginalised regions. The UK, with international partners, is urging Sudanese actors to engage in the political process towards the return of a civilian-led transitional government.

China: Development Aid

Lord Leong: To ask His Majesty's Government how much of UK’s aid budget has been spent in China in the last three fiscal years; and how aid allocated to China in the last three fiscal years has been spent.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: HMG Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) is reported by calendar year. Spend in China was £51.7 million in 2021, £64.1 million in 2020, and £68.3 million in 2019, supporting UK policy objectives including on human rights, health and climate. Full details are available on the gov.uk page for Statistics on International Development in 'Data Underlying the SID.' FCDO cut aid programming in China by 95 per cent in Financial Year 21/22 and focused on open societies and human rights. Additional ODA that year met contractual exit costs of former programmes. Total ODA spend in China also includes non-programme activity, such as the ODA-eligible portion of the costs of UK diplomatic staff in China, Chinese Chevening scholars and the British Council's ODA-eligible activity.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of humanitarian aid that has been able to reach the four million Syrians in north-west Syriain areas not controlled by the Assad regime; and whether they plan to lay a UN Security Council Resolution codifying theuse of crossings from Turkey to ensure humanitarian access.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Since the earthquake over 265 aid trucks provided by six UN agencies have crossed to north west Syria from Turkey. The UK has delivered 188 tonnes of relief supplies to north west Syria, including tents and blankets and committed an additional £4.3 million to support the White Helmets in their operations. We welcome the UN-brokered agreement to open additional border crossings into north west Syria for an initial period of three months. We will be working with the UN to verify that this is happening on the terms agreed and to ensure access is secured in the longer term to improve humanitarian conditions.

Nagorno Karabakh: Armed Conflict

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan regarding the former’s proposals of 16 February for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: On 22 and 23 February, the Minister for Europe, Leo Docherty MP, met Azerbaijani counterparts in Baku including their Foreign Minister to discuss progress on peace discussions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This followed previous discussions in London with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on 6 February, the Armenian Ambassador on 7 February, the Azerbaijani Ambassador on 30 January and the Armenian Foreign Minister on 18 January. The Minister will travel to Yerevan in the next month to continue these discussions. The UK Government remains committed to supporting Armenia and Azerbaijan reach a sustainable and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Russia: Ukraine

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that survivors of all ages of war crimes in Ukraine, particularly sexual violence, arerepresented in discussions about the justice process for prosecuting war crimes in that country.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has allocated up to £2.5 million this year to support Ukraine's domestic investigations and prosecution of international crimes, including sexual violence and crimes against children.We have deployed a member of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative Team of Experts to support the Office of the Prosecutor General, including on conducting inclusive criminal justice processes aligned with international standards, with survivor voices and needs taken into account.We are also funding UN Women to provide conflict-related sexual violence expertise and mentoring to the Ukrainian authorities, and we are funding local NGOs to help survivors to understand their rights and access justice.

Sudan: Internally Displaced People

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the International Organization for Migration's Displacement Tracking Matrix report concerning the 418,000 people newly displaced people across Sudan in 2022.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK has noted the figures regarding displacement in Sudan outlined by the Displacement Tracking Matrix. The high number of people being displaced is a result of an increase in intercommunal violence and the worsening humanitarian situation across Sudan; both of which have been exacerbated by the 25 October 2021 coup. With international partners, we continue to call on all Sudanese actors to commit to the political process. Only a transitional civilian-led government can return the stability needed for Sudan to address its security and humanitarian challenges.

Ministry of Defence

Warships: Military Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide aviation facilities to the Littoral Response Groups.

Baroness Goldie: Littoral Response Groups (LRG) will be supported by Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat helicopters from the Commando Helicopter Force and can also be supported with Chinook and Apache to increase the lift and strike capability of LRG.

Warships: Procurement

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to purchase Multi-Role Support Ships for the Royal Navy; and whether such vessels are necessary for the future formation of Littoral Response Groups following retirement of the Albion-class Landing Platform Dock vessels.

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to retire the Albion-class Landing Platform Dock vessels from active service; and whether these vessels are necessary for the formation of Littoral Response Groups until the entry into service of any Multi-Role Support Ships purchased.

Baroness Goldie: The Integrated Review 21 identified Multi Role Support Ships (MRSS) as the platforms to deliver Littoral Strike. The Littoral Strike concept is centred around two Littoral Response Groups (LRG) to deliver a sovereign capability, which can be combined into larger task group formations.The MRSS programme remains in the concept phase, and the programme and procurement strategies will be decided following phase completion. The Royal Navy will continue to assess plans and are still working to the intended in-service dates.On current plans, the Landing Platform Dock vessels are due to be retired in the early 2030s but will form part of the LRG until the MRSS come into service.

Trident

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government when the annual reportThe UK's future nuclear deterrent: the 2022 update to Parliamentwill be published; and what is the reason for the delay in its publication.

Baroness Goldie: The scheduled annual update to Parliament on the United Kingdom's future nuclear deterrent is undergoing final clearance procedures and will be published in due course.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government how many universal credit claimants were subject to deductions as a result of overpayments where the fault lay entirely with the relevant government department or agency, in the most recent month for which figures are available.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt because it is all recoverable in law. However, our national statistics on fraud and error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value. For UC, the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£250m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£330m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£270m) in 2021/22. The statistics also indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type - in 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%. We do not collect data on how many of these overpayments were detected or subsequently recovered. See: Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact the DWP to discuss their repayment plan.

Employment: Social Security Benefits

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the press statement by the Department for Work and Pensions on 27 January 2022, what assumptions were made (including regarding family type) to inform the statement that "people are at least £6,000 better off in full time work than on benefits".

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The actual amount an individual could gain from work depends on wage rates, the number of hours worked and family circumstances, such as having children, and whether the claimant receives the UC housing element. The main assumption the Department used was that people earn the minimum wage of £9.50 an hour and that full time work is 35 hours a week. The Department’s publication Completing the Move to Universal Credit (publishing.service.gov.uk) shows that: A single claimant with housing costs and no children would have a net income of nearly £7k more a year (if they did not have housing costs the gain would be higher)A single claimant with 2 children with housing costs would have a net income of over £9k a year moreA couple with 2 children with housing costs (if they both worked full time compared to both not working) would have a higher net income of over £17k a year.

Universal Credit

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government how many universal credit claimants requested a deductions waiver in the most recent six months for which data is available; of those requests, what proportion were successful; and whether all universal credit claimants subject to a deduction are automatically informed of their option to seek a waiver.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: During the last 6-month period ending January 2023, 94 Universal Credit claimants had asked for their debts to be waived. Of these, 14 cases were fully waived and a further 5 cases were partially waived. Whilst Universal Credit claimants are not automatically informed of their option to seek a waiver, anyone who feels they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery is encouraged to contact the department to discuss their situation. The DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with their repayment terms and has a well-established process for working with individuals to support them to manage their debts. Our agents will always look to negotiate affordable and sustainable repayment plans. This includes working with individuals to review their financial circumstances. In most instances, a temporary reduction in their rate of repayment can also be agreed. There is no minimum amount that a claimant has to pay. Other options agents can consider where appropriate is to suspend repayments or refer a case for consideration of waiver. In addition, customers are routinely referred to the Money Advisor Network, who work in partnership with the DWP to offer free independent and impartial money and debt advice. We also remain committed to His Majesty’s Treasury’s Beathing Space policy, which provides those with problem debt the right to legal protections from creditor action for a period of 60 days to enable them to receive debt advice and enter into an appropriate debt solution.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government how many benefit claims were subject to sanctions in the most recent three months for which data are available, broken down by parliamentary constituency; and how much was the (1) total, and (2) average, sum of benefit income lost by claimants due to sanctions in each constituency.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The latest monthly statistics, taken from Stat-Xplore, on the number of Universal Credit full service claimants with a payment that has been reduced due to a sanction, by Westminster parliamentary constituency, for September to November 2022, are provided in the attached spreadsheet. The additional information requested for (1) and (2) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. Sanctions are only ever applied when a claimant fails to meet their agreed conditionality requirements without good reason.Attachment  (xlsx, 69.1KB)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Farmers: Surveys

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of declining levels of confidence among farmers in England, as reported by the October 2022 release of the Farmer Opinion Tracker for England; and what steps they are taking to address this falling confidence.

Lord Benyon: Listening to farmers is a crucial part of how we shape our future farming policy. The Farmer Opinion Tracker provides a snapshot of views and opinion provided over a five week period between 28th October and 5th December 2022. As a sample based survey, responses can vary due to changes in sample as well as due to real changes on the ground. Broadly speaking, confidence measures in the most recent survey have remained similar to the previous survey results. While there were some declines in some measures, the changes observed were not typically statistically significant – this means that the changes were consistent with usual statistical variation.Since the last survey was undertaken, we have provided more certainty to allow farmers to plan ahead by reiterating our commitment to the transition and pressing ahead with rolling out our Environmental Land Management schemes, fine-tuning them to make sure they help to deliver our ambitious outcomes on the environment and support a thriving farming sector. The Sustainable Farming Incentive is now live with thousands of farmers applying and we announced six new standards available this year, which will allow more farmers to take advantage of the scheme. Alongside that, Countryside Stewardship continues to offer payment for environmental actions, and will be enhanced to deliver our high environmental ambition, and we are getting ready to open up the second phase of Landscape Recovery scheme. In parallel, we have launched a number of grants for one-off funding to support productivity, such as money for new equipment and technology, slurry storage and water management.We think this information gives farmers the certainty they need to plan effectively for the years ahead and urge all farmers to look at our schemes and grants and to decide what works for their farm business.

Food Supply and Weather

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) increased instances of extreme weather events across Europe and North Africa, (2) the impact of such events on the importing of fresh produce into the UK, and (3) the need to increase domestic food security.

Lord Benyon: We remain in close contact with suppliers, who are clear that current issues relating to the availability of certain fruits and vegetables are predominately caused by poor weather in Spain and North Africa where they are produced. These issues have been caused by unseasonal weather hampering production and harvest during December and January.  While short term supplies might be tight, overall, the supply chain is robust, and we are keeping the market under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group.  The capability, levers, and expertise to respond to disruption lie with industry. Government's role is to support and enable an industry-led response.  The Government has taken steps to address these global pressures on farmers through to support for energy costs, cutting tariffs to reduce feed costs, improving avian influenza compensation schemes and taking a range of measures on fertilisers.  We work with industry bodies across the farming and horticulture sectors to monitor and assess the current market situation.  Minister Spencer held an industry roundtable with supermarkets on Monday 27 February to explore their plans for a return to normal supplies and contingencies for dealing with these supply chain problems.

Fruit and Vegetables: Supermarkets

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure there is a sufficient supply of fruit and vegetables in UK supermarkets.

Lord Benyon: We remain in close contact with suppliers, who are clear that current issues relating to the availability of certain fruits and vegetables are predominately caused by poor weather in Spain and North Africa where they are produced. These issues have been caused by unseasonal weather hampering production and harvest during December and January. We are aware some supermarkets are limiting sales of certain fruit and vegetables. While short-term supplies may be tight, overall, the supply chain is robust, and we are keeping the market under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group. The capability, levers and expertise to respond to disruption lie with industry. The Government's role is to support and enable an industry-led response. UK food security remains resilient, and we continue to expect industry to be able to mitigate supply problems through alternative sourcing options. We work with industry bodies across the horticulture sectors, including with the Edible Horticulture Roundtable Group, as well as with other key stakeholders, such as the British Growers Association and the National Farmers Union to monitor and assess the current market situation. We also work with colleagues in the Devolved Administrations at the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group. The Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries, Mark Spencer, held an industry roundtable with supermarkets on 27 February to explore their plans for a return to normal supplies and contingencies for dealing with these supply chain problems. The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response, and is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Defra has a collaborative relationship with industry which allows us to respond effectively to disruption, should it occur.

Fish Farming: Animal Welfare

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce legislation to enhance protections for farmed fish at slaughter; and if so, when.

Lord Benyon: We published a comprehensive Action Plan for Animal Welfare in May 2021. In support of this work, we have asked the Animal Welfare Committee to update its 2014 Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing; recommendations are due shortly and we will study them carefully to determine next steps.

Food: Imports

Lord Inglewood: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 13 February (HL5359), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, how they intend to enforce their policy that food produced to lower environmental and welfare standards outside the UK will not be placed on the UK market, despite being allowed tariff-free access to the country.

Lord Benyon: We remain firmly committed to upholding our world-leading environmental, food and animal welfare standards as an independent trading nation.All agri-food products must comply with our import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market, whether they are subject to tariffs or not. This may include some products produced to different animal welfare or environmental standards. This has always been the case and includes products from the EU and other longstanding trading partners.The UK will not compromise its high standards of environmental protection, animal welfare and food safety in any trade partnerships or agreements. We are clear that more trade will not come at the expense of our values and we will continue to champion high standards globally.

Agriculture: Government Assistance

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support (1) new farmers, and (2) new farming businesses, into agriculture.

Lord Benyon: The Government’s Agricultural Transition Plan provides opportunities for new people to enter agriculture and we want to attract bright new talent to help deliver a sustainable and productive agriculture sector.We are currently piloting different approaches to providing support to new entrants to build entrepreneurial capacity and increase their opportunities to access land and finance. We launched these pilots in November last year and our pilot partners have just finished recruiting participants. The pilots will run to April and then be evaluated, prior to deciding the next steps in the autumn.We are also supporting The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture with seed funding as they establish themselves as a new professional body providing skills and career support for the agriculture and horticulture industries. They are actively looking at how they can support new farmers and new farming businesses.

Home Office

Refugees: Resettlement

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to consult with local authorities on an annual quota for refugee resettlement; and when they anticipate the first of these annual quotas will be brought before Parliament.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: As the Prime Minister set out in his statement to Parliament on 13 December 2022; We will work with UNHCR to identify those most in need so the UK remains a safe haven for the most vulnerable.And that we will introduce an annual quota on the numbers, set by Parliament in consultation with local authorities to determine our capacity, and amendable in the face of humanitarian emergencies.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Lord Kamall: To ask His Majesty's Government what legal asylum or immigration routes there are for Afghan academics who worked with visiting British academics under the Development Partnerships in Higher Education (DelPHE) scheme, and who have subsequently been threatened by the Taliban regime, but have had their application to come to the UK underAfghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) rejected.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The UK has made one of the largest commitments to support Afghanistan of any country and, so far, we have brought around 23,000 people affected by the situation in Afghanistan to safety. This includes more than 6,300 vulnerable Afghan nationals through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).This is one of the most ambitious resettlement schemes in our country’s history and we are proud to offer a safe and legal route to those affected by events in Afghanistan.Those who are not offered resettlement under the ACRS or ARAP including Afgan academics will need to apply to come to the UK under our existing economic or family migration rules.  Further information can be found on the website at:https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigrationWhilst the UK has made a generous resettlement commitment, we must bear in mind the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited and therefore difficult decisions about who will be prioritised for resettlement have to be made.

Refugees: Resettlement

Baroness Harris of Richmond: To ask His Majesty's Government under what criteria migrants or refugees would be moved from an area once they have been satisfactorily settled in that area.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Accommodation is offered on a no-choice basis across the United Kingdom and there are established mechanisms in place, via Migrant Help and Support Casework, if individuals have a specific, acute need to be accommodated in a particular area.Accommodation providers may need to move individuals if the property they are currently occupying is no longer suitable or must be handed back to the owner when contract with the landlord expires. However we limit the amount of moves that can take place through our contract.

Refugees: Resettlement

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what barriersthey have identified to increasing the number of people who could be resettled through the Mandate Resettlement Scheme.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We have not made an assessment of the barriers to increasing the number of people who could be resettled through the Mandate Resettlement Scheme.Under this Scheme, refugees are assessed and referred by the UNHCR according to their criteria and established processes, which are based on at-risk people’s needs and vulnerabilities.

Visas: Syria and Turkey

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they haveto start a visa scheme, similar to that introduced for Ukrainians in 2022, for the people from Turkey and Syria who are homeless following the earthquakes in those countries.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Government has no plans to implement specific schemes for those impacted by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, existing visa routes for those wishing to come to the UK are available.The UK continues to provide lifesaving and emergency support, coordinating closely with the Turkish government and United Nations in Syria to ensure our support meets the needs on the ground and that we can stay responsive to emerging needs.

Prostitution

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage and develop safe and stable ways forpeople to leave prostitution and sex work and to find alternative work.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: We believe that people who want to leave prostitution and sex work should be given every opportunity to find routes out. Where someone wishes to exit prostitution or sex work, we would seek to support them to achieve this, as we know that there can be particular barriers to exiting. We continue to work with the police, Crown Prosecution Service and others to ensure that this is the focus.As the Bristol University research on the nature and prevalence of sex work and prostitution shows, activity is increasingly moving online. We are providing £1.36m over the next three years to ‘Changing Lives’ to better understand the levels and types of online abuse and exploitation that are happening, and why, and identify and develop the pathways that are needed to improve support.Victims of Modern Slavery have access to DWPs mainstream employment support where they qualify for income related benefits. This includes the Work and Health Programme, Restart and Sector Based Work Academy Programmes. To support everyone seeking alternative work, the Find a job service has over 170,000 job vacancies across a wide range of industries.In addition to this, to protect the most vulnerable we are increasing benefits in line with inflation. This means that, subject to Parliamentary approval, they will rise by September Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation – 10.1%. Furthermore, we are making cost of living payments (paid in 2 lump sums of £326 and £324) to more than 8 million low-income households on Universal Credit, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Pension Credit, with £150 to individuals receiving disability benefits.

Metropolitan Police

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of whether the size and structure of the Metropolitan Police has a positive or negative impact on its performance.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Government is focused on supporting the existing policing system to operate in a more efficient and effective way. More could be done in the current policing structures to achieve this, and we are working with policing to ensure it works better as one system to manage new threats, build national capability and deliver more consistent standards. We have no current plans to review policing structures.Reform of the Metropolitan Police Service is vital in order to restore the public’s trust, better protect London’s communities from harm and prevent those not fit to serve from ever entering the force. It is the responsibility of the Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, to address the concerns of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) about the force’s performance. We will continue to work closely with him to ensure that the people of London get the quality of service they deserve.

Police: Leadership

Lord Dear: To ask His Majesty's Government, further the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 7 February (HL5017), whether they have made a specific assessment of the impact of the leadership training provided to all senior police officers by the College of Policing over the past decade; if so, whether that assessment concluded that the training had (1) been successful, and (2) delivered public confidence in the senior ranks of the police; and if they have made no such assessment, whether they will undertake one.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: This Government is committed to ensuring strong leadership at all levels in policing and is driving forward improvements to ensure consistent and high standards in leadership training.I am pleased to say that the College of Policing has recently completed a full independent review of progression and development to chief officer ranks (2022) and has developed proposals for fundamental change to the current system, which are currently being implemented. This, alongside the National Centre for Police Leadership, has introduced a focus on developing all officers as leaders alongside faster time work to ensure that current chief officer vacancies can be filled. The College has a clear plan for a complete reform of senior leadership development, to improve standards and leadership at all levels in policing.This work will implement a nationally consistent approach to police leadership for the first time, following previous work by the College and Chief Constables to address issues and concerns identified across various reviews. These include: Front Line Review (2018), His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) reports including a leadership thematic in 2019, and the College of Policing Leadership Review (2015). In particular, HMICFRS’ ‘Leading Lights’ Report found that a lack of consistency, fairness and transparency is having a detrimental effect on police forces’ ability to identify and support those with the most potential to become chief officers. The Fundamental Review of the College of Policing (2022) established improving leadership in policing as one of the College’s three key priorities and a new National Centre for Police Leadership is being created.

Firearms: Licensing

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for the issuing of firearm licences.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The safety of the public is our first priority and we keep firearms controls under review. We introduced new Statutory Guidance for firearms licensing for Chief Officers of Police on 1 November 2021. This is helping to improve the quality of police licensing procedures and achieve greater consistency across police forces, because police forces now have a legal duty to have regard to the Statutory Guidance when carrying out their licensing functions. The Statutory Guidance also made it a requirement for relevant medical information to be provided to police in all cases before the application for a firearm certificate is considered. The Statutory Guidance was refreshed on 14 February following a review after its first year in operation.Following the conclusion on Monday 20 February of the inquest into the tragic shootings which occurred in Keyham in August 2021, and the issuing of a report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the report following a recent inquiry by the Scottish Affairs Committee into firearms licensing, we are giving urgent but careful consideration to recommendations made to the Home Office about firearms licensing.

Intelligence Services: China

Lord Leong: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of anetwork of “secret Chinese police stations” in the UK used by the government of China to identify political dissidents; and what steps they plan to take, if any, to shut them down.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously.Attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable.The Security Minister made a statement on the issue of transnational repression to the House on 1 November. As he said to the House, reports of undeclared ‘police stations’ in the UK are of course very concerning and are taken extremely seriously. Any foreign country operating on UK soil must abide by UK law. This Government is committed to tackling this challenge wherever it originates. An internal review into transnational repression is underway and the House will be updated on progress in due course.More broadly, we are driving forward work to protect the democratic integrity of the UK, including from threats of foreign interference, through the Defending Democracy Taskforce.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Planning Permission

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of planning permission applications by a third party which (1) interfere with an adjacent neighbouring property, and (2) undermine the foundation of a property not owned by them, without acquiring permission from that property owner.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Local planning authorities are required to give notice of a planning application and can serve a notice on any adjoining owner or occupier to which an application relates. Neighbours can make their representations during the 21-day consultation period. The grant of planning permission does not grant the consent of the landowner or remove the need for applicants to also comply with other legal requirements such as building regulations approval and the Party Wall Act.An enforcement notice can be served by the local planning authority against any breach of planning control.

Grasslands: Property Development

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount of development on grassland habitats that could be considered irreplaceable habitats under the National Planning Policy Framework that took place each year from 2015 to 2022.

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount of development on semi-natural grassland that took place each year from 2015 to 2022.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Government does not record planning decisions nationally, this is recorded locally by local planning authorities. However, the National Planning Policy Framework affords strong protection to important habitats, and is explicit that development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats (such as ancient woodland and ancient or veteran trees) should be refused, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons and a suitable compensation strategy exists. Local planning authorities will need to take this into account when making their local plans and in decision making.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Semiconductors: National Security

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government whatconsideration theyhave given to semiconductor supply in determining their national security policy.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: His Majesty’s Government recognises the vital role that semiconductor components play across the UK’s defence and other critical sectors.Semiconductor supply chains are inherently global. The Government is already in initial talks with like-minded nations, including through multilateral fora, in order to safeguard the security and resilience of our chip supply.Our forthcoming UK Semiconductor Strategy will set out our plans to assess and act on emerging supply chain threats, and to build on our existing protective levers.

Semiconductors: Manufacturing Industries

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the report by the Centre for Policy StudiesCashing in our Chips: How to strengthen the UK’s semiconductor sector, published on 10 February.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has been leading a review of the semiconductor sector. DSIT has worked with departments across Whitehall to highlight the importance of semiconductors, and of working together to improve the resilience and security of UK supply chains and to deliver economic growth.The Government regularly monitors publications relating to high-priority sectors such as the semiconductor sector. The Government recognises the importance of the semiconductor industry to the UK and our forthcoming strategy will set out our approach to it.

Semiconductors

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government when their Semiconductor Strategy will be published.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has been reviewing the Government’s approach to the UK’s semiconductor sector and intends to set out its support for the sector in the forthcoming UK Semiconductor Strategy. The Strategy will be published in due course.

Internet: Eating Disorders

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking toprotect (1) children, and (2) vulnerable adults, from online encouragement to pursue behaviours that may lead to eating disorders.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Under the Online Safety Bill, companies which run websites which are likely to be accessed by children will need to take steps to prevent their child users from encountering self-harm and eating disorder content. All in-scope services will also need to address any other content (“non-designated content”) which risks causing significant harm to an appreciable number of children.The largest services will also need to enforce their own terms and conditions, which often prohibit such content, and offer all adult users tools to give them greater control over the content they see. These tools will apply to content which encourages, promotes, or provides instructions for an eating disorder or behaviours associated therewith, and will reduce the likelihood that users who do not wish to encounter this content will do so.The Government has also committed to introduce a new communications offence of intentionally encouraging or assisting serious self-harm, including eating disorders, where it meets the criminal threshold. Once introduced, companies will need to treat this content as illegal under the framework of the Bill, taking steps to remove this content once they become aware of it.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Carbon Emissions: Local Government

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what financial assistance they are providing to local authorities to help them meet net zero targets.

Lord Callanan: This Government is providing significant financial support to local authorities to meet the national net zero target. On top of the core funding, local authorities can access specific grant funds for net zero programmes, and the Government has ensured that local growth funding contains a Net Zero Principle to support net zero projects. The Net Zero Strategy sets out the Government's commitments to enable local areas to deliver net zero. This includes funding five Local Net Zero Hubs in each region of England which support local authorities to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment; and funding work to develop business models to increase private sector investment in local net zero.

Carbon Emissions: Small Businesses

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them transition to low carbon ways of working.

Lord Callanan: Currently, over 3,700 UK small businesses have joined the UN’s Race to Zero initiative, accounting for 70% of the current global total. This is in addition to two thirds of the FTSE 100.The Government continues to support SMEs by promoting the UK Business Climate Hub, which is embedded on the SME Climate Hub, and forms part of the global Race to Zero campaign. Here businesses can access a suite of tools for measuring, reducing and reporting on their emissions. These include a carbon calculator tool developed by Google.org and Normative, and the Climate Fit modular education course.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: TikTok

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to follow the United States, Canada, and the European Union in restricting the use of TikTok on government-issued devices.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We continue to monitor potential threats to our systems and data and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary.With regards to potential security risks, His Majesty’s Government does not comment on these matters.

Civil Servants

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government how manycivil servants were employed in each government department in each year from 2015 to the present day.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Civil service headline employment numbers by government departments on both a headcount and full-time equivalent (FTE) basis are published each quarter by ONS as part of their Quarterly Public Sector Employment release. The quarterly data from June 2011 to September 2022 (the latest published data) are available at Table 9 of each of the quarterly datasets from the link below, and has been collated into the attached.https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable Civil Service Employment Data (xlsx, 110.5KB)

Treasury

Electricity Generation: Taxation

Lord Teverson: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans to amend the terms of the Electricity Generator Levy to make it comparable with the equivalent regime relating to fossil fuels, includingin the area of investment relief; and if so, when.

Baroness Penn: The Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) and the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) have different tax bases and combined rates. The EPL applies to oil and gas producers, and is charged at 35% on total profits, whereas the EGL is charged only on the portion of returns that are extraordinary. Also, the EPL applies on top of the default 40% headline tax rate applied to this sector and is expected to raise considerably more in revenues than the EGL. The EGL applies above a benchmark price which is set at a level approximately 50% more than the average electricity price over the last decade and will be indexed to inflation. There is a £10 million allowance, below which the levy will not be charged. Electricity generators will continue to be able to claim relief for their investments from the corporation tax they pay. The EGL is not intended to penalise electricity generators; it is a response to some electricity generators realising extraordinary returns from higher electricity prices because of unforeseen geopolitical events. This levy leaves them with a share of the upside they receive at times of high wholesale prices which they can use to invest in the clean energy generation.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Video Games: Fees and Charges

Lord Butler of Brockwell: To ask His Majesty's Government when they will provide an update on the progress of the technical group on loot boxes, which was expected to be published in the first quarter of 2023.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: His Majesty’s Government is committed to ensuring that video games can be enjoyed safely by everyone. The Government Response to the Call for Evidence on Loot Boxes in Video Games set out that the games industry should take the lead in strengthening protections for children and adults. Specifically, the Government’s view is that purchases of loot boxes should be unavailable to children unless and until they are enabled by a parent or guardian, and that all players should have access to, and be aware of, spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gaming.Since then, the Government has convened a technical working group to pursue enhanced industry-led solutions to achieve these objectives. This has brought together representatives from the games industry, and we have engaged with regulators, academics, and consumer groups to ensure that measures are workable for players and parents.This work is ongoing, and we will provide an update on the progress of the technical working group process in the coming months.